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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during the first free practice at the Paul Ricard racetrack, in Le Castellet, southern France, Friday, June 22, 2018. The Formula one race will be held on Sunday. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)

Hamilton tops charts on first day of French GP practice

June 22, 2018 - 1:14 pm

The Associated Press

LE CASTELLET, France (AP) — Lewis Hamilton was fastest in Friday's two practice sessions for the French Grand Prix, while his top rival struggled to figure out the unfamiliar track as Formula One returned to the country for the first time in a decade.

Sebastian Vettel, who leads Mercedes driver Hamilton by one point after seven of 21 races this year, had trouble adapting to the 5.8-kilometer (3.6-mile) Paul Ricard Circuit and was fifth fastest in the morning and in the afternoon.

The track, situated in wooded hills just inland from the Cote d'Azur, basked in the Mediterranean sun but was subject to gusting winds.

"The car is quick but I wasn't able to be quick with the car today, it's as simple as that," Vettel said. "I think it is a tricky track, not easy to get in a good ride start to finish.

"Over the long run I was able to play a little more and find some (driving) lines. Let's see if we can start from there tomorrow. We should have more of a rhythm."

There will be another practice session on Saturday before qualifying for Sunday's race.

Hamilton benefited from an engine upgrade that Mercedes failed to roll out in the last round when the British driver lost his lead to Vettel.

Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas registered the second best time of the day before a water leak kept him in the garage for the final minutes.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, fourth in the overall standings behind Bottas, was third quickest on Friday.

The morning session ended with a scare for Sauber's Marcus Ericsson after his car burst into flames when he spun out of control and slammed into a barrier. The Swedish driver was unharmed.

Hamilton also had a close call when forced to swerve off course to avoid ramming Stoffel Vandoorne and slalomed around two rows of bollards before returning to the flow.

The four-time world champion said on his team radio that the McLaren driver was going "dangerously slow".

Minutes later, Hamilton complained his Mercedes was having trouble turning. After coming back out, though, he quickly went to the top of the timesheet.